Volkswagen India, on Tuesday, said it would introduce ‘Refresh’ variants of its Polo hatchback and the Vento sedan in the latter half of this month to coincide with the onset of the festive season to boost sales of its cars in a market that had been impacted by the economic slowdown.

Addressing the media, Arvind Saxena, the newly-appointed managing director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said, “We are repositioning the two models, and there are some minor product changes based on market feedback.”

The new Vento variants will be priced between Rs.7.29 lakh and Rs.8.75 lakh while the Polo will be priced between Rs.4.89 lakh and Rs.5.84 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.

The company sold 4,410 units in August 2012, a significant drop from the year-ago figure of 6,091 units, and it has a market share of just under 3 per cent.

“We are working towards a 3 per cent plus share by the end of the calendar. The market has not been at its best, and the passenger car industry, too, saw a drop of 15 per cent during the period,” said Mr. Saxena. Further, he said, “We plan to increase dealerships from 109 to 150 dealerships by the year-end.’’

Gerry Dorizas, President & Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said, “India is a mature and a developing car market. A lot of factors affect sales and how the market develops is the question. If it continues like this, we see a different framework in the industry with the margin pressures. Our idea is to grow the company to be a customer driven organisation.”